Stephen Collins, MD, MS, Megan Coughlin, MD, and James Daniero, MD, MS
Ear, nose, and throat procedures in intraoperative environments often involve surgeons’ and anesthesiologists’ use of shared and sometimes competing approaches to managing a patient’s airway.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(4):E276-282. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.276.
Surgeons and anesthesiologists each have a unique sense of duty to patients to clarify which factors might influence outcomes after intraoperative cardiac arrest.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(4):E291-297. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.291.
Legacy patients are so-called because their opioid use behaviors express past, aggressive opioid prescribing by a clinician. Managing their pain and dependence justly is ethically complex.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E651-657. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.651.
Jennifer D. Byrne, LCSW, CADC, Katie S. Clancy, MSW, and Isabell Ciszewski, LCSW
Social work perspectives on whether prescribers should authorize opioid refills emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary approaches to patient self-determination.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E658-663. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.658.
Considering chronic opioid use when planning elective surgery would likely enhance team communication, decrease stigma, and facilitate care transitioning and long-term planning.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E664-667. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.664.
Mandating processes that are not evidence based generates distress among patients and clinicians, so physician advocacy in national, state, and local policymaking is key.
AMA J Ethics. 2020; 22(8):E668-674. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.668.